China: First Impressions: Adventures in Central China and Tibet

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to: Journey up Jade Dragon Snow Mountain? Attend a Daoist fortune telling ceremony? Eat yak meat beside a yak dung fire in a Tibetan village? Sneak past the People's Liberation Army on Mount Everest? Pet the Olympic mascot panda? Face a plate of scorpions? These engaging stories are entertaining while providing rich detail and illuminating insights. Anyone hoping to visit China or Tibet will find inspiration in these escapades. Those who disdain tour groups but are uneasy about traveling independently in China will find encouragement. Armchair travelers will find revealing anecdotes and even a bit of philosophy. The author's constant state of bemusement is contagious as he samples delicacies such as duck tongue, rooster comb, chicken cheeks, and fish stomachs and concludes that just because it's edible doesn't make it food. With an eye toward the humor inherent in unfamiliar situations, he seeks to understand what feels so foreign in every way.